Confession of Sin

The second portion of our worship service involves reciting a confession of sin as a group, followed by a period of silence in which we acknowledge our individual offenses privately unto God. In keeping with the good news of the Gospel, our confession of sin is always followed by an assurance of pardon from the minister, and a hymn celebrating salvation in Christ. Sober acknowledgement of our sin is indispensable to restored fellowship with God (Ps. 32:3-5; Prov. 28:13; Neh. 3:6-7; Dan. 9:4-19; Matt. 3:6; Acts 19:18; Jam. 5:16). Where Adam and Eve hid their sin from God, and blamed others for it (Gen. 3:8-12), the Father would have had them confess their disobedience. God later required those who brought a sacrifice to the tabernacle to lay their hands on its head as a means of acknowledging and transferring their sins to a substitute which would bear the penalty for their sin (Lev. 1:4; 5:5; 16:21). When the entire people of God incurred judgment for their sin, God promised to restore them upon honest confession of their disobedience (1 Kings 8:47-48). Jesus himself underwent a baptism of repentance (Matt. 3: 6, 16-17) and assumed the sins of his people, with the result that all those who claim Christ as their Savior must confess that they have sin from which they need to be delivered (1 John 1:9).